As a small business owner, you probably know the importance of local SEO. You’re aware that your business isn’t recognized on a national level, so you must create a strategy to get to the top for local searches.
You’re already moving in the right direction!
By narrowing the playing field, you will position your business in front of more relevant customers. Not only does this give you an advantage over local competition, but it is also a great strategy for competing against national brands. If you are currently managing local SEO in Delray, these effective strategies will make your business more successful.
Google My Business
Over the last few years, Google has been hinting to small businesses the importance of Google My Business. If you don’t already have one, it’s time to create a Google My Business account. Optimizing your Google listing can help you rank higher in Google Maps and local search results.
Audit Your Website
If you have a website, you won’t know how to improve it until you know what needs improving. This is where auditing tools come in handy. An SEO audit will reveal technical and on-page SEO problems that may hurt your website’s performance. Is your website slow because of large videos and images on your homepage? Do you have website pages and blog posts that are missing meta descriptions? Is your website responsive for mobile? Tackle the issues presented in the audit before you create an organic SEO strategy to improve site performance.
Optimize for Voice
If you’ve done your research, you have likely heard that Voice search is the future of SEO. Whether this is true or not, we know that Voice is gaining popularity among potential customers searching for local businesses. As a small business owner, it’s important to optimize your goods and/or services to meet the characteristics of Voice, such as utilizing longtail keywords. Get ahead of the curve and start optimizing all your content (old and new) to fit the specific needs of Voice search.
Keyword Research
A lot has changed in SEO, but keyword research remains vitally important. It’s also important for local search marketing in Delray Beach. A good place to start is by breaking your keyword research up into groups. First, start searching for popular keywords within your industry. Then research the keywords your competitors are using. it will be difficult to outrank them if you don’t know what keywords they’re using.
Finally, because you’re targeting local customers, it’s important to research geo-specific keywords. You can do this by combining your two keyword lists (popular keywords and competitor keywords) and add your location to all applicable keywords. For example, if you own a souvenir shop that is in Portland, Oregon, consider keywords such as:
- Souvenir shop, Portland
- Souvenir shop Oregon
- Souvenir shop, Portland, Oregon
To get started, it’s as simple as that.
Perform On-Page SEO
Make sure your website is completely optimized for search. This will include some of the following:
- Create weekly content showcasing your goods/services
- Optimize all your content with keywords
- Provide metadata to all pages, including title tags for images
- Link internally between pages on your website to improve the user experience
- And plenty more!
This isn’t a one-time job. You should continuously ensure your website is fully optimized. This step isn’t easy, but it’s effective if you want your business to rank well.
Get High-Quality Backlinks
For many, acquiring high-quality backlinks has always been a challenge, but it’s important for localized organic search. We recommend some of the tried-and-true strategies for acquiring backlinks, such as:
- Create high-quality content that people want to link on their website.
- Create blog posts on reputable websites (i.e., contribute a Forbes op-ed)
- Connect with local influencers who may endorse your product or service.
Hire a Marketing Company
We understand that the above strategies may seem like a full-time job, and you already have one of those. Unfortunately, this only skims the surface of what’s required to rank for organic local search. The most practical solution may be to hire a marketing company with an experienced team to bring more eyes to your business, like Local Management.
Contact Local Management
If you haven’t started just yet, now is the time to improve your local SEO strategy. We can help you get started!
With over 2,000 clients and offices across the country, you can guarantee you’re in good hands. For local SEO in Delray, contact Local Management. Call (561) 944-7705 for a free site review.
